Mom charged after police say her son brought grenade to school

The following photo of Lisa Marie Miguel was provided by the Stratford Police Department.

STRATFORD, CT (WFSB) -

The mother of a 12-year-old student was arrested after her son brought in a World War II grenade to his school for show and tell.

The son of 44-year-old Lisa Marie Miguel brought the WWII simulated hand grenade to the Johnson Academy in Stratford on June 6.

The student told the teacher he brought in the grenade because they were studying WWII and said it belonged to his grandfather. Once spotting the item, the teacher removed it from Johnson Academy and placed it in the school's courtyard.

Parents were notified about the grenade, and police said Miguel always thought it was a "dud" so she let her son take it to school to show his class. The Connecticut Bomb Squad said the old grenade could have detonated and hurt someone within a 15 to 20 foot radius.

Lakshmi Shankar, a parent, said the grenade shouldn't have been where a child could have access to it.

"It's just as dangerous as a gun," Shankar added.

Another parent, Kyle Siljamaki, said "I guess it was poor judgement to allow that sort of thing to happen. It did have the potential of detonating."

School officials said a "stay put" protocol was put in place until the grenade was removed from the campus ground, and the bomb technician for the Connecticut State Police was able to properly dispose the device.

After the item was removed from the school, Miguel talked with police and confirmed that she had given the grenade to her son for the school lesson.

Miguel told police that her deceased father gave the WWII simulated hand grenade to her as gift from his "military days."

Miguel was charged with risk of injury to a minor, reckless endangerment and possession of an explosive device. She was released with a promise to appear at Bridgeport Superior Court on June 16.